Police in Livingston have successfully returned a lost dog to its owner with the help of social media.

West Lothian officers found the lost dog on Tuesday (March 24) and took it back to Livingston Police Office.

They took a photo of the dog, and posted it up on Facebook and Twitter to see if they could trace the owner.

Within 10 minutes the post had reached 38,000 people, achieved over 1000 likes with 264 people sharing the link. Within this 10 minutes police were able to identify the rightful owner who was delighted to have her dog, who is called Skamp, returned so quickly.

West Lothian Area Commander CI Cameron said: “This is an excellent example of the power of social media. Skamp was returned in a very quick period of time and the owner was delighted. I am extremely grateful to everyone on Facebook and Twitter who assisted us in finding the dog owner.

“I would encourage everyone within West Lothian to join us as a friend on Facebook and Twitter to help us resolve issues like this that occur every week.

“You will also receive updates on what your local officers are doing in your community. We also issue requests to help find missing people and regularly ask for your help in solving crimes that have occurred in your area.”